Picture Books
Good Night, Little Sea Otter
Greater Estimations
You may have enjoyed, like we have, Great Estimations in the past. I was happy to find in the library this week a brand new sequel by the same author!
Greater Estimations deals still with estimations, as as the cover says, it deals with greater estimations. Be prepared for some large numbers, and if you read it aloud it may generate some fun discussions! I had lunch today with my friend and neighbor Mary Daly, the author of the well-known homeschool science program entitled The Universe in My Hands, and over some awesome enchiladas after our bishop's pro-life mass we discussed how so few people have a good grasp of how many a million is. Or even one thousand. We went on to estimate the chips in the basket next to the yummy salsa!
Happy Birth Day!
This is a simple story of a mother describing her baby's first day after birth. It focuses on how the baby looks and acts and how much the baby is loved by the parents and extended family. The best part, I think, are the illustrations. The illustrator has wonderfully captured the lovable yet wrinkly face of a newborn and the beautiful excitement and exhaustion of bringing a new life into the world. It is a wonderful book for toddlers and other young children to read while anticipating the arrival of a new sibling.
How Do Bees Make Honey?
A small, inexpensive book filled with pictures and lots of other information picture about bees and other insects. You'll learn how to tell bees apart from other insects, how bees live together in colonies and all about their beehives, how bees communicate with each other (my children have really enjoyed trying to re-enact the bee's dances) and of course how bees make honey. The one thing I didn't like is that the material is so disjointed because it jumps around between different kinds of insects.
I could do that! Esther Morris gets Women the Vote
Insects
We have been spending hours in the garden where insects abound, and this new friendly title comes to entertain and inform my summer readers. The photos are very interesting and our 10 yr. old enjoyed reading about the reasons behind the dimensions of each of the unusually sized insects. The amount of information is juicy enough but also little enough to make this light and breezy summer reading!
Have fun learning about these insects: the most numerous animals on earth!
Jerome Lejeune: Saintly Geneticist
A wonderful book that integrates faith and science!
Ana Braga-Henebry and Anita Barghigiani have created an engaging book about Venerable Dr. Jerome Lejeune, the father of modern genetics. This lovely book is instructive for all ages! The book includes a timeline of important events in the life of Dr. Lejeune with dates and photographs from pivotal moments in his life. The author shares the story of Dr. Lejeune's childhood, his marriage, and his work as a pediatrician.
As a researcher, Dr. Lejeune worked hard to discover the genetics underlying Down syndrome and other genetic conditions. This book is an inspiring story of faith and excellence in scientific research. The book seamlessly integrates the true story of a faithful Christian man who understood the importance of both faith and science.
Our own Ana Braga-Henebry is this lovely new book's author!
Also see our review of Life is a Blessing, a biography of Dr. Lejeune for high school students and adults.
Jesus Feeds Everybody!
Jesus Feeds Everybody! by Young-Jin Choi and Jung-Cho Kim, is an English translation of a board book originally published in Korea. The multiplication of the loaves and fishes came to life for Ramona. She loved this brightly illustrated book and I think she especially loved that it comes with a built-in ribbon handle for convenient toting.
A very happy Jesus, cute bunnies and lambs and its own handle ... Ramona was pleased.
I recently received a couple of new books from Pauline Books and Media and Ramona was taken with both of them. The books are this one, Jesus Feeds Everybody!, and The Easter Swallows by Vicki Howie.
Jonah and His Amazing Voyage (Bible Adventure Club)
Set sail on a stormy sea with Jonah and His Amazing Voyage as your young children learn about Bible stories in this light-hearted set from the Bible Adventure Club series.
Each kit includes a hard cover full-color picture story book, activity book, read-along audio cassette, interactive CD-Rom, and parents guide. The picture book is a simple retelling of the story of Jonah to appeal to younger children with bold, colorful, and cartoon-like illustrations. The audio cassette is a dramatized version of the story with original music to listen to while reading along with the book. The activity book includes fun facts, projects, mazes, and more. The interactive CD-Rom includes an animated story, original song, coloring book, word search, matching, puzzles, quiz game and light up puzzle (a scrambled puzzle that lights up when the squares are in order.). Some activities offer different levels of play.
Because of the light-hearted approach and the types of activities, this kit is designed for younger children. My five-year-old and eight-year-old daughters have enjoyed listening to the story many times as well as playing the many creative learning activities on the CD-Rom. Since there are a variety of activities on the CD-Rom and in the activity book, a wide range of younger children can enjoy this kit. Jonah and His Amazing Voyage is just one from a series of Bible Adventure Club kits. Other kits include Other kits include Creation:God's Wonderful Gift, Jesus:the Birthday of the King, Noah and the Incredible Flood, and David and his Giant Battle.
Includes Hardcover story book, activity book, CD-Rom and Cassette








